soil-conservation-people-religion-and-land.pdf - South West NRM

Some have suggested that the answer does not lie in Western
but in Eastern religions that contain a view of man in nature
(Smith, 1972). For example, Taoism includes the idea of man's
harmony and unity with nature, and ~uddhism fosters reverence
for all living creatures and an appreciation of the beauty of
nature. But the nonowestern civilizations have also had
drastic impact on the land through overgrazing., soil erosion,
and excessive deforestation.
It appears that all of the great religions, regardless of
origin, have some ethic of responsibility toward nature built
into their rich and diverse teachings. Each offers ethical
guidelines for those who follow its basic tenets, but too many
men and women in all parts of the world choose not to obey the
imperative that we care for the earth and our fellow humans.
According to Birch (1986) "Churches have not been in the
vanguard of movements pressing for a life-centred ethic. The
reasons include the notion that our main job is to remove
oppression and injustice to humans. To add another task to
that immense one is a distraction from the main task. But
this is not a case of either/or but both/and; to fight
oppression wherever it exists, both in human lives and in nonhuman
lives. Is the one and only object to work for healthy
and free people? Do we really believe that this one objective
can be achieved without concern for the rest of the creation?
If so, it shows how narrow our horizon is. In the long run,
we look after ourselves by looking after nature because nature
and its inhabitants look after us. This is an empirical
reason for being concerned about nature. But it is not a
sufficient reason. It is not enough to give the non-human
creation instrumental value only. For that is to see nonhuman
lives as means only and not as ends in themselves, as
objects and not as subjects. To do that is to deny any
intrinsic value to creatures other than ourselves, and
therefore to deny them any value to God.l1
Which paw is best? Will ecology, humanism, various forms of
Western religion, or the teachings of Eastern religions
provide us with the imperative that will help us cherish and
preserve life? There seems to be no one way for all humans.
History provides. us with examples of. men and women who have
acted with ultimate concern for nature and human life by
following each of these diverse teachings. As. an unknown
theologian once asked: 'How dare we mere mortals restrict God
to only one path?'18
Even without an Eleventh Commandment calling humankind to
cherish Nature and ensuring all living creatures a right to
co-exist, much spiritual reward is obtained by those true
"deep ecologist^^^ who practise what they preach. In the
writer's first contribution to this subject (Roberts, 1974)
the similarity between good land managers and sensitive